There are a number of different types of trailers that are used in conjunction with towing vehicles that serve a variety of purposes. These can include trailers for towing boats, for hauling ATVs, for hauling motorcycles, for hauling snowmobiles, utility trailers, and any number of other types of trailers. A common problem with trailers of this type, for instance, boat trailers, comes when the boat is being unloaded. In the example of a boat trailer, the boat trailer may be hauled by a pickup, a pickup with a camper on the bed, or by a recreational vehicle. The typical procedure for launching a boat in such a trailer is to back the trailer down a boat ramp until the trailer is submerged in the water and the boat is able to float free of the trailer. Once the boat is free of the trailer, the towing vehicle can pull the trailer up the launching ramp and the user can park the towing vehicle and the trailer in a parking area.
The difficulty with this procedure is that the towing vehicle may be difficult to use in backing the vehicle down the boat ramp. Visibility may be constrained, and the driver may not be very skilful at backing a trailer. Also, the area of the launching ramp may be crowded and only a narrow slot may be available to back the boat down the ramp. Especially in the case of a large vehicle such as a recreational vehicle, there may not be room to easily back the boat down some ramps, and the whole backing process may be very awkward and constrained.
In any of these situations, an improvement would be if the towing vehicle could unhook the trailer in the parking area, and the trailer could propel itself down the launching ramp to a launch position for the boat, and then propel itself up the launching ramp to the parking area. The reverse would be accomplished when the boat is ready to be taken out of the water. The present invention accomplishes this task with a self propelled boat trailer.